A Digression on Archetypes and Poison Rules for Gimble

I run a game set in an ancient Mediterranean(ish) archipelago using the 5th Edition rule set, (look forward to another post about the setting in the future). My players just reached third level, and for many classes that means choosing your archetype. I have the philosophy that this is when your character really should come into their own. For example if you met these characters in real life I wouldn't want you to think, "Oh, look she carries a battleaxe and yells a lot, she must be a barbarian", I want you to see her and think, "Oh wow, look at the well carved totem and charms she carries, she must be a very much in tune with the Spirits". This is where the real flavor and identity of the character should emerge.

Axe taller than her? Check. Furs? Check. Face paint? Check. Bonus points for being a dwarf.

In pursuit of this I am happy to cook up anything that my players want to play. One of my players wanted to play a doctor flavored rouge, Dr. Gimble, so I whipped him up an archetype based loosely on the "Mastermind' from The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide and modified these Poisoner's Kit rules to fit a man of medicine better. So I give you, the Master of Medicine! Note that the archetype is unfinished, this is intentional as I want my player to guide Gimble's growth and specialization. Also included are the modified Poisoner's Kit rules.

In addition, to make this a lot more interesting I am also working on a series of tables of ingredients for each ecosystem that the characters may encounter. That means that Gimble may beg the party to let him climb that mountain peak and forage for a few hours because he really wants to use a Giant Puffball Fungus in his next poison. Look for a post on poison ingredients and where to find them in the next few weeks.